What Is a Post-graduate School of Theology?

It is a very new, and yet very old method of study, of contribution, of
achievement, and of recognition of achievement and contribution to the
propagation and understanding of the Christian faith.

A graduate school is exactly that—a school for graduates, for men and
women who have already graduated successfully from other institutions of
learning and have proven and demonstrated academic ability. In other words it is
a forum for post-graduate studies, and an avenue to higher (usually
doctorate) degrees. It is an old method because it
traditionally was for gifted graduates to undertake post-graduate studies and
research while holding a lecturing post because of the need to remain "on
campus". It is a new method because this is a distance
learning graduate school. Candidates work from their own homes under the
guidance of a mentor , who oversees their progress until their thesis
is ready for submission to the Doctoral Review Committee.

It is a graduate school of theology , specifically the
theology of Scripture as it came to expression in the sixteenth century Reformed
and Presbyterian Reformation on the continent of Europe and the British Isles
spreading from there throughout the whole world. Most students will normally
have graduated with a first degree from Reformation International
Theological Seminary or another Reformed or Presbyterian Seminary, though this
is not imperative. It is expected that all students will be more than merely
acquainted with the doctrinal stance of Reformation International Theological
Seminary which finds its expression in the great Reformed creeds, most
particularly the Westminster Confessional Standards (Westminster
Confession, Westminster Larger Catechism and Westminster
Shorter Catechism) and the Three Forms of Unity (Belgic
Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.)

YOUR AIM in working with Reformation International Theological
Seminary Graduate School should be to gain a recognized Doctorate or other
higher level Degree, with the specific aim of furthering and advancing the
Biblical and Reformed Christian faith. Normally the School will expect your
study and qualification to be allied to a specific Christian vocation or
ministry, and not to be an end in itself or for mere
self-improvement . You will also normally be expected to seek to add to the
wider understanding and promotion of the faith by the publication of your thesis
in either book or electronic form, so that it does more than "gather dust" on a
seminary’s thesis shelves. (Conversely the challenge is that thesis suggestions,
and therefore enrollment, will not be accepted unless they are judged
to have publishable and usable potential.) Your mentor will be an
experienced Christian academic author with published works, who can advise and
help you with this at the appropriate time.

OUR AIM is simply stated. We need another Great Awakening
, and we need it urgently . There is no "easy fix" to achieve this. God
is sovereign. But when we again see men and women understanding ,
believing, and living out the Reformed faith of the Bible we may begin to
lift up our heads again. But how shall they hear without a preacher, and how
shall they preach (and teach, and publish and witness) unless they be sent and
trained ? We are to commit the truth of Scripture to faithful men who
shall be able to teach others. (Romans 10:14-15; 2 Timothy 2:2)

The fields are white-fields, white to the harvest (John 4:35). If you feel that
you might be called to be a co-worker in preparing for that harvest, please read
on!

The Advanced or Doctorate Degree

The Doctorate is the highest of all academic distinctions, and is awarded in
recognition of a genuine and original contribution to the understanding of a
particular subject. To achieve this the candidate must be a student of profound
learning, original thought, and extensive research, and his contribution must be
acknowledged worthy of achieving the ranks of the Doctorate, by a committee of
men themselves holding Doctorate degrees.

In today’s society most ‘Doctorates’ are earned, that is, they are specifically
worked towards as a means of acquiring academic standing and the highest of all
certificate qualifications, but this was not the pattern in the past.
In the great universities of the Middle Ages, and of the Reformation and Puritan
periods doctorates were usually honorary. The Senatus or
faculty of a university might take note of the achievements and writings of a
scholar. He would be proposed by a Professor, and invited to appear before the
Senatus where he would be required to verbally "defend" his writings
and opinions. This defense would, traditionally, be conducted in Latin
throughout. The Senatus would then vote, and if the majority agreed
that the candidate was of the required standard they would proceed to award the
Doctorate, and so enter him into their scholastic "elite ranks". Slightly later
a pattern developed in which candidates might spend most of their active lives
within the university precinct as "research fellows," mixing their own studies
with lecturing, and working always with an eye to Doctorate standing, and
ultimately a Professorship.

Reformation International Theological Seminary aims to utilize the strengths of
the past for the needs of today’s world, and so has developed its Graduate
School to offer a unique pathway into the ranks of the Doctorate.

Following in the footsteps of the past, for the student with a previous degree,
the Reformation International Theological Seminary doctorates are achieved
primarily through independent research and writing/lecturing. The study must
produce an original work, adding to the corpus of available knowledge on the
selected subject.

The written work or thesis should be book length (typically 50,000-125,000
words), and of a publishable quality, with an appropriate number of references
to scholarly sources.

The decision to grant or not, as in the past, is made by a panel or committee of
three or more Doctors; each of whom will sign the degree awarded.

Approach to Study

From what has been said it will be noted that post-graduate, and especially
Doctoral degree streams are essentially different from everything in the main
catalogue which caters to the Bachelor and Master level student. Here the
candidate is not a student as such, nor is he or she under the normal
undergraduate restraints as to reporting, written submissions and rigid time
scales, nor are several drafts of the thesis required (though it may sometimes
happen). In return for this more free atmosphere (equivalent to the research
scholar of old) the candidate is expected to be a person of experience and
maturity, to be self-motivated and self-disciplined, capable of correcting and
improving his own work before submission and, in many ways, acting as the
colleague and equal of his mentor and the Doctoral Committee who will appraise
his work.

In contrast to the high quality of the RITS post-graduate and doctoral program,
you will find it is very competitive in price. Additionally, as noted, it is
thoroughly REFORMED in doctrine. We have aimed at keeping our costs as low as
reasonably possible by keeping our overhead low, and aiming primarily at
ministry instead of money. We believe you will be able to tell the difference
both in cost and quality. Many of our students who have been awarded doctor
degrees now hold prestigious positions within the Christian community around the
globe.